The future of TikTok in the U.S. is once again uncertain, with Donald Trump hinting that a long anticipated deal to spin off the platform’s American operations might collapse altogether. Speaking with reporters on Sunday, Trump admitted negotiations remain in motion but gave no guarantees about the app’s survival. “I may or may not, we’re negotiating TikTok right now. We may let it die, or we may, I don’t know, it depends, up to China,” he said. “It doesn’t matter too much. I’d like to do it for the kids.”
Talks had been underway earlier this spring to move TikTok’s U.S. business into a new company led by American investors, with support from partners including Caesars and SL Green. But the plan was stalled after Beijing signaled it would not approve sharing TikTok’s algorithm following Trump’s announcement of heavy tariffs on Chinese imports.
According to reports, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and top negotiator Li Chenggang in Spain this past weekend, with TikTok listed on the agenda for the first time. Still, sources close to the talks say no agreement is likely before the September 17 deadline.
That deadline is set to be extended again, which would make it the fourth time Trump has pushed back the date for TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to sell off its American assets or face a potential shutdown. With over 170 million U.S. users on the app, the possibility of pulling the plug has sparked heated debate in Washington. Lawmakers across party lines have long raised concerns that Beijing could use TikTok to monitor or influence Americans, while Trump has signaled he would rather find a way to preserve the platform’s massive cultural footprint.
Now, with politics, trade negotiations, and international tensions all colliding, the fate of one of the world’s most influential apps remains up in the air.